And so 2021 started out in much the same vein as 2020 played out. The beach ban, booze ban, braai ban, coupled with the kids only going back to school mid-February, have made it feel like a false start. And yet, 10% of the year has already slipped past us. And the uncertainty of what the Corona future holds is still as much with us as before.
One of the medium-term life goals that I have identified is to improve my surfing. To help me achieve this, I believe that I could drop a few kilograms (especially in the midriff area) and become more supple. My strategy for shedding the weight revolves around a target weight challenge with a few buddies, with a winner takes all grand prize as motivation. On becoming more supple: I have been doing Pilates for several years to build core strength and become more flexible.
To be brutally honest, I have failed dismally in reaching either of these goals.
While I was surfing for the first time in weeks the other day, I felt like a beginner all over again. My timing was totally out, I was way too sloooow on popping up and caught the rail on the most promising waves. Then it dawned on me: if I want different results I have to do something different. I have to employ different strategies to obtain my goals, be more disciplined and more deliberate in measuring my actions and celebrating progress made.
Now let’s turn to your business. How did your year start? Have you identified goals for 2021, or the 2022 financial year that starts in a few weeks? Are you expecting different results without implementing any changes? Do you have a strategy in place?
As a reminder, here are the steps we follow to develop a game plan for 2021.
1 – Know what you are trying to achieve. Define your vision and mission for the long run and set goals you must achieve over the next year to help you get to these objectives.
2 – Examine your business model canvas and make sure the building blocks are well- defined and in sync. The foundation must be solid to build a better future.
3 – Develop an understanding of the business model environment; embrace the uncertainty of the future as a starting point.
4 – Consider ways to grow with existing and new product offerings in current and new markets. You may also decide to consolidate and grow internally by developing people and streamlining processes. But grow you must.
5 – Redesign your business model with the information at hand and develop strategies to achieve your goals.
6 – Apart from building these into your budget, show your people exactly how who they are (their attitude and skills) and what they do contribute to executing the strategy.
The Challenge
A common problem many business owners experience is turning Strategy into Reality. As per Freek Vermeulen in the Harvard Business Review, many strategies fail because they are in fact goals.
As we’ve said before, Strategy is clear, measurable objectives with set timelines that help you achieve your goals.
For those that watched Chasing the Sun on the Springboks’ journey to becoming World Champions, a few very poignant examples of Rassie’s strategy come to mind:
a. The Springboks’ traditional strength lies with the forwards dominating the opposition. Rassie played to this strength and the 6/2 split on the bench contributed enormously to maintain this dominance.
b. The physical conditioning and workload of the players needed to be carefully managed. Players unable to train on Monday before a game weren’t available for selection, players were rotated between games (except of course Pieter-Steph) and substitutions were made at around half-time as opposed to on the hour with the same goal in mind (except of course Pieter-Steph).
c. A pool of around 35 players with the right attitude, skill, experience and big match temperament were required to go into the Rugby World Cup 2019. To achieve this, Rassie sacrificed short term results by experimenting with players, positions and combinations and losing games that could have been won in favour of developing the group.
These were very clear and easy to measure strategic objectives with set timelines. Can you say the same for your Strategy 2021?
So say the Bosses
Rassie Erasmus’s master plan to win the Rugby World Cup came to sensational fruition at the end of the 19th-week of RWC19. The Springboks clinched their third World Cup following his strategy to build a simple plan around their traditional strengths. Erasmus’ meticulous planning involved using the games after he took over to trial combinations and put players into situations they expected to face in Japan, to better prepare them. – Greg Stutchbury
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory, tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tsu
The Sologix solution
We are well placed to help you understand your business model and develop a game plan for the future. We focus on strategies to make the most of your people, your processes and technology to give you an edge. Our process to develop Strategy 2021 includes
- templates,
- checklists,
- guidelines and access to
- selected online courses.
Join a Mastery workgroup, book a Strategy 2021 session or email us for personal business coaching here.
